Method of cutting stencils



' March 10, 1953 1. L. HERRIN 2,530,755

METHOD OF CUTTING STENCILS Filed Aug. 15, 1949 IN VEN TOR.

/ 52 A. Heeew i r 7049/4/59 Patented Mar. 10, 1953 ggsoass 1 1MB?! 9F QUT Q TNQ L$ m Harrie, Glendale. can, emilltaiiqe been? 15, 4?; Se al 91%;

2 claims. .(Cl. 101--128.4)

The present invention relates to stencile in general and moreparticularly to a new and improved method for cutting stencils usable inthe hand painting of designs bn fabrics and the like. More specificallythe invention comprises an -im proved method of stencil cutting in whicha plurality of stencils, each usable 'for a particular color or colors,are cut in a predetermined manner with respect to each of the otherstencils to eliminate spacing between adjacent areas of the finishedpainted design.

The painting of designs by the use of stencils has become exceedinglypopular with amateure and it is possible for them, working accuratelyand carefully, to paint fabrics and other materials and to obtain a Iinished result apprga ching that obtainable by professionals.l-l'eretofore the primary objection to such painting has been that areasof different colors have frequently been spaced by unpainted lines orareasl essentially detracts from the appearanceof the finished worl; andgives visual'eyidence of the lack of skill in the operator. By the useof present method painted areas of difierent colors in the finishedproduct accurately abut one another and the telltale spacing lines areabsent. By the use of simple, easily cut stencil the f nished productapproaches a professional painting in its appearance. With anappreciation of the problems inherent in the field of cutting stencils,and particularly stencils usable for the hand painting" of designe uponfabrics and similar materials, t is an object of the present inventionto provide a new and improved method by which stencils can be cut andused sequentially to produce a finished properly related to all otherpainted areas.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedmethod ofs tencil cutting in which individual stencils are provided forindividual colors to be painted and in which each stencil is cut in aseries of steps each of which certain of the other stencils are outsimultaneously.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedmethod of stencil cutting in which tracing lines on a plurality ofstencils defining abutting design areas of -the complete design havetheir tangent portione c t simultaneously. w

A s ill r e 9. 939. the eteor is is g9- de me at t m r t n w ic dua stnci s ar ami e; :ie e elerie 9i predetermined colored areas which areasabut painted design in which all painted areas are] certain other areasdefined by other stencils, characterized in that the lines between theabutting areas of the stencils are cut simultaneously.

l hese and other more specific objects will ap pear upon reading thefollowing specification and claims and upon considering in connectiontherewith the attached drawing'towhich they relate.

Referring now to the drawing in which is illustrated a pattern and anexemplary series of Stemcils made and usable in accordance with thepresent method:

Figure 1 comprises a stencil pattern the design areas oi which bearnumbers indicating the'steh oil to be cut in accordance therewith;

Figure 2 illustrates the method of superimp sing of stencil No. 1 uponstencil No. 2 andthe simultaneous cutting of the lines between ad'jacentareas defined by each stencil;

Figure 3 is a view of stencil No. 1;'

Figure 4 is a view of stencil No. 2; and

Figure 5 is a view of stencil No.

Itis to be understood thatthe present disclosure is illustrative of themethod comprising the present invention and that whereas three stencilsare out according to the present disclosure the method is applicable tothe cutting of any number of stencils which coop erate to 5m duce thefinished design.

Referring first to Figure 1 of the drawing, a stencil pattern isillustrated comprising a simple flower in which the various areas ofdifferent color are numbered from 1 to 3. Each "area bearing aparticular number will have the same coloring in the final design and,according to'the present method, will be found upon a si' igle sten oil.It is seen'then that three stencils will'be cut in the painting of thedesign illustrated by the pattern'of Figure 1 carrying out the method itis desirable that a smooth work board, such as a fiberorworid board, beprovided which can be penetrated easily by thumb taclgs yet whichprovides a smooth sur-- face suitable for tracing". A soft lead "pencilshould be provided, a sharp stencil kni fe', aunt tacks or push ins,transparent stencil paper "or papers, and a paper punch. With "I l theprocess can be carried out as herei described. y l M 'Ll he iirst stepin the process comprises the cutting of three or more s'hee tjsof Eur;ficiently large as to overlie thepattern of ure 1 t a a gin 49 a 'fsnesfTKS having been done the e e sheets [or'st ncu a ar r i r esed iipob hrti and, fixedly holding the' pattern an d thetni Stencil No. 1 is thensuperimposed alone upon' the pattern with its three guide holes II inexact alignment with the guide holes ll of the pattern. The variouspattern areas numbered- 1 are then traced with the soft lead pencil toprovide the outlines illustrated in Figure 3; This having been completedthe same operation is performed for the areas numbered 2 and stencilpapers 2 and 3, respectively.

In the tracing of each stencil the pattern of Figure l is visiblethrough the transparent paper and the operator simply draws the outlineof those areas bearing the reference character corresponding to thenumber of the stencil paper then being worked upon. 1 I

The operator is then in possession of three stencil papers, each uncutand each provided with disjointed sketches which, when superimposed uponall of the other stencils, produces a figure corresponding to theoriginal pattern.

The operator now superimposes stencil 1 upon stencil 2 and with hisstencil knife cuts those portions of the tracing lines which separateabutting numbered areas of the two stencils. Referring specifically toFigure 2, those lengths of lines which will be cut at this time areindicated by solid heavy lines, the remaining uncut line portions ofstencil 1 are illustrated by light solid lines, and the uncut lineportions of stencil 2 by light dotted lines.

Upon completing the cutting of the heavy solid line portions of Figure 2the operator will then superimpose stencil 3 upon stencil 1, theopenings ll again being aligned, and again cuts the line portions whichdefine adjacent abutting areas. Upon completing this operation he willsuperimpose stencil 3 upon stencil 2 and perform the same operation.Obviously the order of the superimposing of the various stencils can bevaried at will so long as care is exercised to see that each of thestencils is brought into juxtaposition to every other stencil, carebeing taken. in each case to insure that the paired sheets are exactlyaligned by the exact alignment of the punch holes H which, of course,are merely exemplary of aligning indicia which might be used. l

Upon the above steps having been completed the operator has threepartially cut stencils, the line portions out being those parts of theenclosing peripheral lines which are tangent to peripheral lines ofother stencils.

He then separately cuts with hisstencil knife,

the remaining peripheral lengths of each of the individual designs and,upon removing the cutout areas from the sheets, is provided with threestencils numbered 1, 2 and 3, as illustrated in material to be painted.

He first fixedly secures the fabric or other surface to be painted tothe work board as by suitable pins and fixedly secures stencil No. 1there 3'on I 4 over as by other pins. He then proceeds to re-' producethe punched-out openings ll upon the fabric by moving the pencil pointaround the interior of each opening. Then using a suitable brush dippedin paint of a suitable quality he covers each of the areas 1 lying belowthe cutout areas 1 of stencil 1.

Having completed the coloring of the areas underlying the open portionsof stencil 1, he sequentially superimposes stencils 2 and 3 upon thefabric, making certain in each instance that the openings II are inaccurate alignment with the openings which have been drawn on thematerial as described. A suitable set of directions can be provided toinstruct the user as to colors to be used with each of the stencils or,if desired,

- notations can appear upon the pattern itself.

Upon the painting of the areas underlying the open'parts of each ofstencils 1, 2 and 3 the finished product will appear and will correspondto the design illustrated in Figure 1, the various numbered areas beingcolored in accordance with the color related to-the particular stencilcorresponding to the numbered area; Shading can be provided as desiredby the use of different colors or shades of colors in a particularcut-out area, but in any event the final result will be characterized bythe immediate and exact tangency of each colored area in the painteddesign with each adjacent colored area, and this despite the fact thatthe adjacent colored areas of different colors were provided bydifierent stencils. As previously indicated, this result follows fromthe fact that the common line of definition between adjacent areas wascut with a single cut by the operator.

While in the illustrated example of the invention only three stencilshave been cut it is to be understood that the process is susceptible ofapplication with a greater or lesser number of cooperating stencils,that the described form is merely illustrative, and that no limitationis intended other than as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

, 1. A process for cutting stencils for use in hand paintingdesigns onsurfaces, comprising numbering with the same number all areas of apattern on a pattern sheet which are to be cut out of a single stencilsheet, numbering a plurality of stencil sheets each with one of thenumbers of said areas, superimposing said transparent stencil sheets onsaid pattern sheet and simultaneously placing aligned positioningmarkers upon said stencil sheets and pattern sheet, seriallysuperimposing said stencil sheets upon said pattern sheet and tracing oneach stencil sheet the boundaries of the areas of said pattern bearing anumber corresponding to the stencil sheet number, juxtapositioning eachstencil sheet with every other stencil sheet with their markers inalignment and while so positioned in each instancecutting with a cuttingstroke penetrating simultaneously the juxtapositioned sheets all commonboundary lines lying one above the other on the two sheets, separatingsaid sheets, and, after each stencil sheet has been so paired with everyother stencil sheet, cutting individually the uncutportions of theboundaries of the portion of the pattern on each stencil sheet.

2. A process for cutting and using stencils in hand painting designs onsurfaces, comprising numbering with the same number all areas of apattern on a pattern sheet having a color dif- 1-,ferent from anadjacent area of said pattern,

numbering a plurality of stencil sheets each with one of the numbers ofsaid areas, superimposing said transparent stencil sheets on saidpattern sheet and simultaneously placing aligned positioning markersupon said stencil sheets and pattern sheet, serially superimposing saidstencil sheets upon said pattern sheet and tracing on each stencil sheetthe boundaries of the areas of said pattern bearing a numbercorresponding to the stencil sheet number, juxtapositioning each stencilsheet with every other stencil sheet with their markers in alignment andwhile so positioned in each instance cutting with a cutting strokepenetrating simultaneously to juxtapositioned sheets all common boundarylines lying one above the other on the two sheets, separating saidsheets, and, after each stencil sheet has been so paired with everyother stencil sheet, cutting individually the uncut portions of theboundaries of the portion of the pattern on each stencil, superimposingone of said stencil sheets upon 'a fabric to receive the design andoutlining thereon positioning markers coinciding with the positioningmarker on said one sheet and also painting that portion of the fabricexposed by the partial pattern of said one sheet, removing said onesheet and thereafter sequentially superimposing 6 said stencil sheets onsaid fabric with the positioning markers thereon coinciding in each casewith the positioning markers on said fabric, and with each sheet sopositioned on said fabric painting that portion of the fabric exposed bythe cutout portion of the pattern on that sheet.

INEZ L. HEREIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Modern Photoengraving, by Fladerand Mertle, Modern Photoengraving Publishers, Chicago, Ill. See pp.140-141 on Inserting.

